


I'll Make My Own Way

by EmperorNorton150



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Building A New Life, Character Death, F/F, Hopeful Ending, IN SPAAAAACE, Moving On, Not Canon Compliant, Reunions, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29955135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmperorNorton150/pseuds/EmperorNorton150
Summary: “Sooooo” said Bow into the sudden silence. “Is this some sort of elaborate plan to murder us then?” Catra snorted.“I think we’re all getting a little too old for that shit, don’t you? No, no, the message I sent was real.” She certainly looked older. There was grey in her fur now, though it had only been three years since they’d last seen her. She wore an unfamiliar grey and red uniform, with a pistol and a knife buckled at her belt. Her hair was long again, tied back in braids, and her eyes were tired.“Then what do you want?” asked Glimmer, stepping into the room. “Not that it isn’t nice to learn you’re still alive and all.”“I told you Sparkles” said Catra, flicking her ears. “The Crimson Claws are interested in joining your Coalition. We’re willing to offer our full support against Horde Prime, access to our intelligence network, basing and resupply rights, military coordination—everything. I just have one condition.”“Oh?” said Glimmer, stretching her fingers in case she needed to let loose a blast of magic or teleport herself and Bow back to the ship. But Catra didn’t attack. She just looked straight at her and said very quietly“I want you to tell me how Adora died.”
Relationships: Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Spinnerella (She-Ra)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 51





	I'll Make My Own Way

_“Just drop me off on the closest planet. I’ll make my own way.”_ – Catra, “Taking Control”, S5:E6

With a _hisss_ of compressed gas escaping and the whine of the reactors cooling down _Darla_ settled to the floor of the cavern.

“ _Landing sequence complete_ ” reported the computer’s liquid voice. “ _All systems fully-functional. Fuel at 97.4%._ ” Glimmer nodded absently, gazing out the windshield. 

“Thanks Darla. Run a diagnostic routine while we’re gone, would you? And set, hmmm, security protocol three.”

“ _Understood._ ” 

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit paranoid?” Bow’s voice echoed as he entered the bridge. Glimmer snorted but didn’t turn around.

“We’re alone in the middle of an armed camp, Bow and we still know basically _nothing_ about these people. I don’t think I’m being paranoid _enough_.”

“Fair enough.” He joined her at the window, squeezing her shoulder with one hand. “It’s certainly…….impressive.” It certainly was. The cave stretched for over a kilometer, blasted out of the living rock with high explosive, and its roof curved to a crest hundreds of feet above their heads. The tunnel to the surface of lifeless planet bristled with missile and laser emplacements, and inside every centimeter buzzed with activity. Just from where they’d landed Glimmer could see dozens of gunships and attack shuttles and armed freighters, arrayed in formation, hatches open for maintenance or reloading. Trucks loaded with supplies growled past, and robots hauling replacement engine parts and energy packs. In the distance loomed the bulk of a Galactic Horde _Talon_ -class assault frigate, a trio of red claw marks crudely painted over its original insignia. Platoons of troops marched by, and groups of technicians, every species or race she’d ever seen or could imagine.

The Coalition was headquartered out of a space station the size of a small moon these days and had a fleet of literally thousands of warships. But they had the support of a third of the galaxy by now. Considering the limited resources these folks had to draw on it was……impressive.

“Well, we wouldn’t be bothering to negotiate with the Crimson Claws if they weren’t—hey! What the _fuck_?” Glimmer glowered as a trolley rolled by, hauling a pair of Bright Moon _Crescent_ -class strike fighters. “Where the fuck did they get _those_?” 

“Best not to ask too many questions” said Bow with a sigh. “You probably don’t want to know.”

“Fine” growled Glimmer. “But this alliance better be worth it. Do I look presentable?”

“You look amazing” said Bow, leaning down to kiss her. “No crown today?” Glimmer shook her head, smoothing the lapels of her magenta and silver suit. “I’m here as Chairwoman of the Galactic Coalition, not Queen of Bright Moon. And I’m not sure that a group as independent as this would appreciate it if it looked like I was trying to put on airs.” Bow glanced down at his fluorescent vest and breeches and frowned.

“Do _I_ look like I’m trying to put on airs?” Glimmer laughed.

“You look great. Don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s go meet this mysterious Commander of theirs.”

* * *

They trooped down a seemingly endless series of corridors, hewn from stone and ice and plated with steel. Their guide trudged ahead of them silently, wrapped in a fur coat, carrying a submachine gun, the forest of yellow spikes adorning his head glowing sullenly in the overhead lights. He hadn’t said much beyond a grunted order to follow. It was starting to really piss Glimmer off, but she sternly suppressed her temper. This was important. Too important to blow up over a bruised ego. She sighed, fighting off a spike of homesickness.

Three years. Three years since the Battle of Etheria had dealt Horde Prime the single worst defeat in the last five millennia. Three years of fighting, of negotiating, of building fleets and finding allies, of driving back the Galactic Horde star by bloody star across the universe. They were winning now. She hadn’t let herself imagine that even six months ago, but the tide had turned. The Galactic Coalition was growing in strength, and Horde Prime was on the defensive. And if this negotiation proved fruitful—they might finally be able to deliver the deathblow. They stopped, pressing against the tunnel wall, as a column of troops marched past. Glimmer’s eyes lingered on the three red claw marks embroidered somewhere on each of their jackets or coats as they trotted past.

The Crimson Claws were the single largest revolutionary group still not affiliated with the Coalition. They still didn’t know much about them. They were active in the Gordian Reach and the Sagittarius Supercluster mostly, they hated Horde Prime, and they were _extremely_ effective. Reports filtered in from smugglers and merchants, stories of destroyed Horde bases and slaughtered soldiers, fleets ambushed and officials assassinated. They’d also responded to every offer of alliance or membership from the Coalition with silence—until now.

All of a sudden, their guide stopped at an unmarked door, punched a code into a keypad, and waved them through as it slid open. The room beyond was simple and small, carved out of the bare rock. The walls were covered in maps and star-charts. One end of the room was dominated by a camp table, covered in tracker pads and papers and other accoutrements. At the far end was a chair, carved out of the stone wall, large enough to be a throne but completely plain. And sprawled across it was—

Bow swore and grabbed for his bow. Glimmer just shook her head.

“I should have guessed” she muttered. Catra smirked.

“It’s good to see you again too sparkles” she said.

* * *

Catra turned to the alien.

“Thank you Lieutenant Narax. Please tell the captains that we’ll be ready to meet with them in an hour.” He saluted.

“As you wish Commander!” and left with a short bow at the Bright Moon delegates, the door closing behind him with a _clang_.

“Sooooo” said Bow into the sudden silence. “Is this some sort of elaborate plan to murder us then?” Catra snorted.

“I think we’re all getting a little too old for that shit, don’t you? No, no, the message I sent was real.” She certainly _looked_ older. There was grey in her fur now, though it had only been three years since they’d last seen her. She wore an unfamiliar grey and red uniform, with a pistol and a knife buckled at her belt. Her hair was long again, tied back in braids, and her eyes looked tired. 

“Then what do you want?” asked Glimmer, stepping into the room. “Not that it isn’t nice to learn you’re still alive.”

“I _told_ you Sparkles” said Catra, flicking her ears. “The Crimson Claws are interested in joining your Coalition. We’re willing to offer our full support against Horde Prime, access to our intelligence network, basing and resupply rights, military coordination—everything. I just have one condition.”

“Oh?” said Glimmer, stretching her fingers in case she needed to let loose a blast of magic or teleport herself and Bow back to the ship. But Catra didn’t attack. She just looked straight at her and said very quietly

“I want you to tell me how Adora died.”

So, Glimmer told her. She told her about dodging Horde patrols after Catra had left them, about how they finally broke through the blockade with She-Ra’s help. She talked about their discovery that the Rebellion had been compromised, and their efforts to undo the effects of Horde Prime’s control chips, how He’d followed them to Etheria and begun excavating the Heart. She told her about their discovery of the Failsafe, their infiltration of Mystacor, and then and their attack on the Fright Zone. The whole time, Catra sat perfectly still except for the twitching of her tail, her face a stone mask.

“……she and Shadow Weaver went down into the tunnels to try and defuse the Heart while the rest of us launched a diversionary attack to distract Prime. Entrapta managed to get the chips defused somehow, but it wasn’t going well, and we were surrounded. Then there was this massive explosion. At first I thought it was the Heart activating, that Adora had failed but……Prime’s ship just _shattered_. I’ve never seen anything like it, it shattered like glass! And, like, half his army vanished into this maelstrom of energy. It was…...amazing. It was so amazing that nobody realized at first that Adora hadn’t ever come back to the surface. So…...Bow and I led a team down to search the catacombs and…...and…...” she took a deep breath. “……we found her in the Heart Chamber. Everything else was gone—everything was silent and Adora was……”

There was a sound from across the room like a strangled gasp as Catra’s face collapsed in on itself. That was the only way Glimmer could describe it, the stone façade crumbling as she started to shake.

If Glimmer had thought about it even for a moment, she probably wouldn’t have had the courage to do it. So she didn’t. She flickered across the room in a heartbeat, grabbed Catra and pulled her into an embrace. The commander collapsed against her, clutching at her suit and sobbing against her breast.

“You loved her” said Glimmer. It wasn’t a question.

“Always” whispered Catra.

She didn’t know how long they sat like that. Bow walked over and joined them eventually, placing a hand on Catra’s shoulder but staying silent. There wasn’t really much to say. Eventually, Catra’s sobs trailed off into a series of hiccups and deep, shaking breaths. She growled something under her breath in a language Glimmer didn’t recognize, harsh and guttural. Then she muttered “ _fuck_ ” and pulled herself free of the embrace.

“Sorry about that” she rasped, pacing over to the table and filling an earthenware mug from a carafe. “It’s been so long, I didn’t expect……sorry. Wine?” They both nodded, and Catra filled two more mugs and handed them over. She was flushing, and wouldn’t meet Glimmer’s eyes.

“You don’t have to apologize” she said. “It’s not like we didn’t do the same.” Catra’s ears flicked as she took a long sip of wine.

“You had the right” she said at last. “I’m not sure I do.”

“I doubt Adora would mind” commented Glimmer.

“ _Don’t_ tell me about what Adora would have wanted. Adora was an idiot” Catra snapped, slapping her claws against the tabletop. “Not that I wasn’t too. It all just seems so _stupid_ now. I spent years— _years!_ —chasing her across Etheria, burning down half the fucking planet, throwing a tantrum like a fucking baby because I couldn’t deal with my own fucking feelings. What a joke. If one of my captains acted like that, I’d court-martial her in an instant. I can’t believe they put up with me for so long….” Her voice trailed off into a hiss, and she shook herself. “Sorry” she repeated. “It’s just been…...a while since I’ve talked about any of” she waved her hand vaguely “you know, all _that_.”

“That’s alright” said Glimmer.

“Do you—do you know how it happened?” Catra asked.

“Castaspella said she thinks it was the Failsafe. It was so powerful, so much energy—Adora couldn’t channel it without it……consuming her.”

“Typical of Shadow Weaver not to have mentioned that part” muttered Catra. “Is _she_ still alive?” Glimmer shook her head.

“We found her mask in the tunnels, near where Adora—near the Heart. There were signs of a battle but we don’t know exactly what happened.”

“Good. I can cross that off my list.” Glimmer remembered what Catra had been like on Etheria, back when the world seemed so small and no problem couldn’t be solved by punching someone—poised, ironic, bitter, sickeningly self-confident. She remembered what she’d been like when they’d been trapped on Horde Prime’s ship—full of rage and suppressed fear and a loneliness so deep that Glimmer could taste it even through the force field of her cell. She seemed—calmer now. More centered, in an ineffable way that she couldn’t quite articulate. Maybe she was just tired. Glimmer could understand _that_. “You’ve…….changed” she blurted out. Catra’s tail lashed back and forth.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like any of that old shit matters. Not anymore. And anyways, I don’t have as much time for self-indulgence now that there’s fifty thousand people relying on me to plan their battles and keep the food and ammunition coming down the pipeline.” 

“How did you end up out here anyways?” asked Bow. “I mean, we dropped you off at a tiny little spaceport on the most out-of-the-way planet we could find and now you’re running a revolution?” 

“Hey, when I last saw you guys were just some losers from a fifth-rate planet and now you’re president of space or whatever.” Glimmer squawked in outrage but Catra ignored her, propping her hip against the table. “I bummed around for a while. Did some odd jobs, worked at a bar, then got a job as a mechanic. Got bored, did some crimes, had to leave the planet in a hurry, signed on as a crewwoman on a freighter, the ship got attacked by pirates, hijacked the pirate ship, became a pirate captain—you know how it goes.”

“You’re terrifying, you know that?” Catra smirked at Bow.

“And don’t you forget it arrow boy. Anyway—then I heard about what happened on Etheria. The story was……pretty mangled, but everyone agreed that She-Ra was dead. And I realized that the only thing I really wanted to do anymore was hurt Horde Prime as badly as I could. It turned out I was pretty good at it, and I found some likeminded folks. And so…...here we are.”

“Here we are” agreed Glimmer. “Did you ever think you’d see us again?” Catra snorted.

“I didn’t intend to ever come within a _galaxy_ of you idiots again. At least at first. Then—well, you know. And after your Coalition started gaining ground, I figured I’d probably have to get used to you being around again sparkles if I really wanted to defeat Prime. You?”

“Honestly? I thought you’d either get yourself killed within six months or end up ruling a planet somewhere—”

“Glad to know I’m exceeding expectations princess.”

“—but no, I didn’t expect to run into you again. You’re……handling it better than I would have expected”

“Personally, I’m still surprised you haven’t tried to murder us yet” put in Bow. Glimmer elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!”

“I don’t like you” said Catra bluntly. “But……I owe you. You and arrow boy were there for Adora. You helped her when I was trying to hurt her. Everything else—it just feels silly now.”

“It really does” said Glimmer, smiling. “Remember chasing each other back and forth across Etheria, running around after little computer fragments we thought were _sooo_ important?” Catra chuckled.

“You got so mad at me just because I ruined your dumb party. Can you imagine that now?”

“It was the Princess Prom! You blew up the Princess Prom— _of course_ I got mad!” 

“Oh, c’mon sparkles, it was fine. Honestly, I can’t believe I used to think that was a victory. I mean, I blow up a ballroom, kidnap some loser who isn’t even a real princess—”

“Hey!”

“—and I think that it’s some kind of triumph. _Stars_. I was such an idiot. At least I got to dance with—.” Her face fell and she broke off. After a moment she muttered “I should have gone back to Etheria with you.”

“Maybe you should have” said Glimmer. “But I don’t think it would have made a difference.”

“I could have gone with her—”

“What could you have done, died with her? She wouldn’t have wanted that, you know that.”

“At least then she wouldn’t have died hating me” Catra growled.

“Well, that’s just dumb.” Both girls glared at Bow. He shrugged. “Sorry, but it is. Look, Catra, I spent a lot of time with Adora after you left when we were hiding in asteroid belts and behind dead planets trying to avoid Prime’s blockade patrols. And—we talked a lot about you. Like, a _lot_. And, Catra, she was really disappointed that you hadn’t stayed and, umm, still kinda mad about a lot of stuff but she was _so_ proud of you for standing up to Horde Prime. She—she was sad you didn’t want to stay with us, but she still wanted you to be happy, wherever you are. I don’t think Adora hated _anyone_. I know she didn’t hate you.”

“I _told_ you she was an idiot” said Catra, scrubbing her eyes and sniffing. Silence fell for a long moment. Catra’s tail swished back and forth across the floor. Bow drank his wine.

“I never thanked you for rescuing me, did I?” asked Glimmer.

“As I recall, you tried and I threw a tray of food at your head.” Catra noted drily.

“Ah yes. Well—thank you. Seriously. I know it didn’t work out like you hoped, but thank you. I owe you my life. I haven’t forgotten that.” Bow nodded vigorously in agreement. Catra stared at the floor, her ears pressed flat to her head.

“Glimmer, I killed your mother. You _really_ don’t have to thank me for anything.”

“Yeah” said Glimmer after a moment. “You did. But…...when you broke the Siege of Araxas IV you saved, what, three billion lives?”

“Huh. Didn’t know you’d heard about that.”

“Word gets around when someone smashes one of Prime’s Sector Fleets with a force half its size.”

“I—never mind.” Catra sighed. “Look, lives aren’t like ration bars or energy packs. You can’t trade them for one another. You can’t buy your way out of that kind of debt.”

“I _know_ that” snapped Glimmer. “But that’s not the point. You can’t ever make up for opening that portal. _Ever_. You changed everything for me, for Etheria, for everyone. Forever.” Catra winced. “But—when you saved Araxas IV or drove the Horde out of the Gordian Reach or rescued me—that also lasts forever. Everything we do has consequences and—I choose to focus on the good you’ve done. And _yes_ ” she said, driving ahead as Catra opened her mouth, “I _know_ I don’t have to. But I want to. I want to judge you by what you’re doing now, not what you did as a stupid teenager.”

“Why?” Catra sounded genuinely curious.

“Adora’s dead” said Glimmer, her hand gripping her mug so tight her fingers were turning white. “My mother’s gone. I’ve seen whole planets die in the last few years. I’ve ordered— _fuck_ , there are probably a few million people dead because of me by now. I’m tired of it all. Is it so hard to believe that I’m happy to know that at least _one_ person I thought was gone forever isn’t?”

“Even me?”

“ _Especially_ you.”

“Bloody stars” said Catra, with a small smile. “You’re _all_ just as dumb as Adora was.”

“I guess she was contagious” replied Glimmer.

“I guess she was.” Catra shook her head. “It really _is_ good to see you again. I didn’t expect that.” Glimmer walked over and punched her in the arm.

“Hey, it’s a big universe, we Etherians have to stick together.” Catra rolled her eyes.

“Whatever you say sparkles. I just want to see Prime dead.” Glimmer nodded.

“And then?”

“Huh?”

“What are you going to do after that?” Catra shrugged.

“Don’t know, don’t care. You can be empress of the universe if you want. Just help me put my claws through that asshole’s heart first.” She pulled a timepiece from her uniform pocket and grimaced. “Speaking of which, we need to go talk to the captains. This isn’t like the Horde you know—I might be the boss, but if you can’t convince my ship commanders that it’s worth it the alliance is off.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem” said Glimmer with a grin, brushing her coat. “But—I want you to promise me something first.” Catra raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“When this is all over, come back to Etheria with us.”

"Are you _shitting_ me? Why? There’s nothing left for me there.” Her tail lashed angrily.

“That’s not actually true you know. Scorpia and Entrapta talk about you all the time. I know they’ll be thrilled to learn you’re alive.”

"Really? Even after…...everything?”

“They care about you Catra! They forgave you. Well—” she frowned. “To be fair, I’m not actually one hundred percent sure that Entrapta remembers that it was you who sent her to Beast Island. But that’s not the point! The point is, I want you to visit Bright Moon as a friend. I want you to see the memorial. You don’t have to stay. But I want you to have a home, even if you don’t live there. It’s…...it’s what Adora would have wanted. It’s what _I_ want.”

“Ok” said Catra in a soft voice. “I promise.”

* * *

Two more years passed before she’d fulfill that promise. Worlds died, fleets burned, civilizations crumbled. On ten thousand battlefields across twenty thousand star systems the Horde fought the Coalition. Billions died, as the Eternal Empire of Horde Prime collapsed. Catra was there at every step. She led the vanguard when they broke through the Meridian Gates in an orgy of mutual annihilation, dozens of battleships and fortresses exploding as energy beams flickered across the lights of the nebula. She was there when the Coalition Ninth Fleet was ambushed at Salkazar, one of the few survivors who could report seeing over two hundred allied warships literally _devoured_ by swarms of Horde bots. She stood with Glimmer on the flag deck of the GCS _Star of Freedom_ , gripping each other’s hands as they watched the kinetic interdiction strikes slam into the surface of Orras. She was there during the Five Days of Fire, when they met the Galactic Horde’s Reserve Armada and _smashed_ it under a canopy of blazing stars. And she was there in a backwater star system on the edge of the civilized galaxy when they trapped the last fleeing ships of the Horde fleet in the orbit of a dead planet and the Princesses of Etheria put out their combined power and scoured the last vestiges of Horde Prime’s consciousness from the Universe.

She hadn’t ever expected to return to Etheria, and if you’d asked her, she would have said she didn’t have any regrets about that. She didn’t have a lot of happy memories from her childhood, and the few she did have hurt to think about now. It was a planet populated by those who hated her (often with good reason) and those who’d tried to help her (whom she’d rewarded with betrayal). Even when things were at their worst out in space—when she’d been washing dishes and scrubbing floors in a shithole bar on a shithole planet, or when she’d been pinned down for three weeks on an asteroid with dwindling food and oxygen, waiting for a gap in the Horde patrols to make a run for it—she could take comfort in the fact that nobody _knew who she really was_.

And yet…...when she disembarked from the shuttle on the landing pad outside Bright Moon……the moonlight warmed her fur like the light of no other star had, and the air smelled so familiar that it made her gasp. It was……nice.

Being back on Etheria was strange. Being in Bright Moon was _surreal_. The roar of the party downstairs had faded to a dull buzz in the back of her ears as she padded through the darkened corridor, tracing the whorling patterns that stood out in bas-relief on the seashell-bright wall. _Did Adora stand here once?_ she thought. _Did she pace these halls, did she sit on that chair, did she look through these windows?_ Catra had spent years trying _not_ to think about Adora, and the new life she was leading, far away from her. Now she tried to imagine it, tried to picture what it would have been like to live here, to be happy here. She tried to picture herself here as she’d once hoped to be, backlit by fire and smoke, striding through the broken gate at the head of an army to take possession of the fallen kingdom. Her lips quirked at the thought. She’d led enough assaults now—successful and otherwise—to have lost all sense of romance or triumph about them. A bloody, miserable business, even at its best.

“Commander Catra? Is that you in there?” footsteps echoed down the hallway and into the disused sitting room where she’d ended up.

“It’s me” she said without turning around. “Sorry, I needed a little space.” Spinnerella chuckled.

“I understand” she said. “It’s getting pretty hectic down there.”

“Are my boys and girls causing any trouble?” asked Catra with a frown. Several of her senior officers had started out as pirates and most of the rest……well, she didn’t ask too many questions.

“No, no, don’t worry.” Spinnerella assured her. “I mean, no worse than anyone else. I just noticed you’d slipped out and wanted to make sure everything was alright.” 

“I’m not stealing the silverware, if that’s what you’re worried about” Catra said drily. “I’m fine. It’s just……very strange being here.” Catra kept her eyes pinned on the blurry outline of the Whispering Woods she could see through the stained-glass window. There was a rustle of silk from behind her as Spinnerella settled down on a futon.

“You doing ok?” she asked. 

“I’m fine.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “This place—Bright Moon—for so long it was the place that stole my best friend from me. That’s all it was. For _years_. And now—now she’s gone and I’m here. It’s not……what I expected to happen.”

“I’m sorry.” Catra shrugged.

“Not your fault. Honestly, you people have been very understanding about this whole situation. Under the circumstances, I mean.” Spinnerella sighed.

“The last few years have been so—so overwhelming. I think, well, I think it’s a relief to learn that anyone we thought was dead is still alive. You might have been our enemy, but you’re a familiar face in a world that’s become _very_ strange. It’s comforting.”

“Huh.” Catra turned around. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever described me as ‘comforting’”. Spinnerella smiled.

“Well, _I_ for one find it very comforting to know you’re on our side now. I doubt I’m the only one. You’ll have to get used to it if you stick around.”

“I’m not going to. Stay here, that is. Too much work left to do” she waved vaguely “out there. Too many ghost here.” She turned around and smiled at the princess. “But thank you. I’m glad to have gotten the chance to see the place.”

“It’s just the simple truth. You know you’ll be welcome to return any time.” There was a clatter of footsteps outside, and then Netossa came thundering in the door.

“Catra!” she said. “There you are! I’ve been looking all—oh, hey Spinney!”

“Good to see you too Netossa” said Catra with a quick bow.

“Hey darling!” Spinnerella rose and drifted across the room, giving her wife a quick hug. Netossa kissed her, then leaned against the doorframe.

“What are you doin’ up here?” Spinnerella giggled. 

“I went to find Catra twenty minutes ago. Did you _really_ not notice?” Catra smirked as Netossa looked abashed and scratched her head.

“Ahhh, well, I’ve been busy. Speaking of which—hey, kitty cat! I’ve been kicking ass in every competition they’ve set up downstairs and it’s getting boring. Care to join or are you too scared?” Catra flexed her claws and grinned. She liked Netossa. There was no subtlety, no hidden agenda. She told you what she was and what she wanted straight-up. It was refreshing. And it made it awfully hard to wallow in the past.

“Bored of winning I take it? Don’t worry, I can help you with that.”

“Ha!” The two women trotted downstairs, back to the party, Spinnerella following behind them with a fond smile.

The next morning Glimmer took her to see the memorial. It was simple—a single tree on a green hill, overlooking a lake. In front the tree was a pillar of crystal, the height of a man. Encased within it were the shards of the Sword of Protection. On it were inscribed the words:

ADORA

THE PROTECTOR OF ETHERIA

WE REMEMBER

“It’s to Adora, not She-Ra” noted Catra. She raised an eyebrow.

“There’ve been She-Ras before” replied Glimmer. She buried her hands in the sleeves of her coat, shivering in the chilly winter breeze. “And they’ll be a She-Ra again. At least—I think that’s what Madame Razz said. It was a little confusing. But Adora—she was unique.” Catra blinked rapidly, flicking her ears.

“Yeah” she whispered. “She was.” She walked to the tree, ran her hand down the trunk.

“The lake was where Prime was excavating the Heart” said Glimmer, following her. “We flooded it after we collapsed the tunnels. This” she made a circular motion with one hand “this was one of the only things in the area that survived the blast. We thought….it was appropriate.”

“It’s nice. Really nice.” said Catra. “She would have liked it.” She knelt, feeling the gnarled bark underneath her claws. _Adora is buried here_ she thought. _Her body is beneath my feet_. _She is dead. I’ll never see her again._ For as long as she could remember, Adora had been the lodestar in her life, one of the only things she could rely on in a terrifying world that wanted to hurt her. After she’d abandoned—when she’d left—that hadn’t really changed. Everything she did was still about her, about trying to get her back or hurt her or humiliate her or convince her she was wrong or or or—love and hate, wrapped up together so tightly she wasn’t sure she could tell the difference. And then one day in a bar on Cestus IV, negotiating a refueling contract, she’d overheard a whispered conversation and her whole world had frozen solid. And after that, nothing mattered at all. _Adora is dead_ she thought again, trying to summon up that black rage that had consumed her for so long. But instead—

Glimmer cocked her head, listening as Catra murmured something in a language she didn’t recognize.

“What was that?” she asked. Catra rose to her feet and blushed.

“Oh, umm, it’s just something people in the Gordian Reach say at funerals. I mean, _I_ don’t believe that kind of nonsense but it’s…...well, it just felt right.”

“Can you translate it?” Catra frowned for a second, then recited quietly

“We are of the Light in a world of Shadow, born from Stars, to the Stars bound to go. Shine bright, child of the Sun, but remember: You will return.” She looked away, scratching at the ground with one foot, her ears flattened. “It’s silly I know….”

“It’s lovely” said Glimmer. Something crunched under Catra’s boot, and she glanced down. The soil around the base of the tree was littered with—with stuff. Scribbled notes, tiny carved figurines of She-Ra, pendants, embroidered pieces of cloth. Glimmer followed her gaze. “People leave those—offerings, I guess. Or thank yous.” Catra shook her head, picking up a tiny wooden model of She-Ra and gently brushing away the dirt.

“I always knew this would happen” she said. “I mean, I used to think she’d die leading a triumphant Horde attack and we’d take the castle or whatever and there’d be a five-minute lecture on how she should be an example to us all at dinner and then no one would ever talk about her again or remember her except me. But I always knew she’d throw herself away for us.”

“It’s……who she was” said Glimmer. “It’s why she was the person we loved. You couldn’t change that about her, not and have her keeping being Adora.”

“I know” sighed Catra. “I know. Can……can I be alone for a little bit?”

“Of course!” She grabbed the former Force Captain and hugged her tight. She returned the embrace. “I’ll be back at the castle if you need anything, ok?”

“Yeah. Thanks sparkles.” The princess grinned as she vanished in a flurry of light.

“Don’t mention it Horde scum.”

* * *

Catra left Etheria soon afterwards, but she made sure to return at least once a year. And each time she made time to visit the memorial. Sometimes she just popped in to say hello, sometimes she spent a whole day curled up on one of the branches, reading a book or just letting her thoughts wander, listening to birdsong or watching the sunlight dance on the lake. Time passed, and life moved on, even when she didn’t expect it to. There was just so much work to do, and never enough people to do it. Commander Catra of the Crimson Claws became Lieutenant-Admiral Catra of the Galactic Peacekeeping Force, then Ambassador Plenipotentiary Catra of the Galactic Federation, and then finally Senator Catra, representing the seventy-two inhabited planets of the Gordian Reach on the High Council. The universe was so much _bigger_ than she’d ever dreamed of when she was young. It just went on and on and on…...

Seven years after he first visit, she found herself kneeling in front of the tree once again, tears trickling down her face. She sniffled, and wiped at her eyes.

“Sorry” she whispered. “I didn’t expect that.” A pale blue hand squeezed her shoulder.

“What in the _name of the stars_ are you apologizing for love?” Catra climbed to her feet, smiling at her wife through blurry eyes. Maya was a diplomat from the Sirius system. Glimmer had introduced them at a reception a few years ago. (Technically, she’d introduced them at a reception, then invited them both to dinner half-a-dozen times, then convinced them to go on that trade junket to Andromeda together, then persuaded them to work together on the new Security Act. Catra would have been _pissed_ if it hadn’t worked). She looked out over the still waters of the lake.

“I think I’ll always love her” she said at last instead of answering. “At least a little bit.” Then she yelped as Maya’s hand poked her in the side.

“Of course, you will! That’s why _I_ love you! Because you care so much. You’re…...fiery like that.” She jabbed her partner again. “Glimmer _warned_ me that you’d do this!”

“Ouch! Do what?”

“Get all self-pitying and maudlin and start blaming yourself for everything! Cut it out!” Catra laughed, intercepting Maya’s hand before it could hit her again and kissing it. 

“Alright, alright! I’ll try.” She flicked her ears at her wife, who giggled. “Thank you for coming with me” she said more seriously. “It….it means a lot.” Maya rested her hand on the cool crystal of the memorial marker, looking at the razor-sharp edges of the sword fragments suspended inside.

“I wish I could have met her” she said. “I need to thank her.” Catra made a _hrmmm_ sound. 

“Thank her?”

“For helping you survive the Horde. And for rescuing you from Prime.” She smiled at Catra. “I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you otherwise.” Catra blinked back sudden tears, then shook her head.

“I don’t deserve you. I didn’t deserve Adora and I _certainly_ don’t deserve you.”

“You can believe whatever you want my dear but it doesn’t make it true.” Catra chuckled.

“I wish you could have met her too. She’d have liked you; I think.” She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and settled to the ground. Maya was small and slight and had never come within a hundred miles of a battle but…...they had the same souls of steel. Catra didn’t have the words to explain that, so she didn’t try. “I don’t think I want to leave yet” she said instead. “Is that ok?”

“Of course it is! Do you want to be alone?” Catra shook her head and reached out a hand.

“Stay?” she asked. Without another word, Maya slid down and nestled up against her side, wrapping an arm around her and snuggling her head against her neck. Catra _buzzed_ contentedly, and her tail snaked around and encircled Maya’s waist. The bark of the tree was warm against her back, and the wind rustled in the leaves overhead.

It sounded like laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> \- So this is a little different? This idea popped into my head, like, last summer I think and has been bouncing around since then. I finally decided to try and write it out and see if I could make it work. 
> 
> \- Three things I will never get tired of: Glimmer and Catra's friendship, Catra being in charge of stuff, and turning She-Ra in Space Opera.


End file.
